Frankie Frimpong continues our NBA Fan Voice effort. His thoughts below the jump.
NBA Fan Voice: Fairness Cuts Both Ways
It was all a dream.
That’s what I think of the NBA season last year, especially when compared to this rut we call a lockout. From what I can tell the players want to make a deal, owners want to destroy the union. Why else wouldn’t a deal be in the works, when it’s obvious the split is 51-52 percent? Stern, Silver, Fisher, Hunter -- all of those guys could go into a room, sit for a week and hammer this whole thing out. I would compare this to America’s economic environment. You could take the top economists from both Democrats and Republicans, hang in a room and constructively come up with a plan to solve the country’s woes, but screaming and disrespecting the president is more fun.
Back to NBA: if the players offered to cut their share, say, 6 percent to cover the supposed losses, why wouldn’t owners take it? Players are giving about $1 billion back and are asking for only minor system changes in return. Owners want more than 6 percent plus big system changes. Players say, “Okay, then you offer us something to accept the system changes,” Stern says, “No I’ma Boss (Rick Ross voice).”
The part that bothers me isn't even the stalled negotiations, it's the casual fans' reaction. Like "Players should take 50/50 and shut the front door." I wonder, do these fans know the owners are billionaires? Instead they call the players "uneducated, thugs (my favorite), greedy, egoistical." How is a billionaire crying POOR even tolerated in 2011? But it dawned on me. The black athlete is much easier to hate than a billionaire. Don't people HATE LeBron James more than Dan Gilbert (until you realize Gilbert was selling all those sub-prime mortgages during the housing boom)? I detest -- actually I am wounded by fans insulting the players for seeking a fair deal. The irony is that after the casual fans enter such ridiculous comments onto their iPads it's off to ... #occupywallstreet.
See More:
